'His Dark Materials' Episode 1: Roger is kidnapped but Gyptians are not sure if it's the 'Gobblers'
Major spoilers for Season 1 Episode 1 of 'His Dark Materials'
The first episode of HBO's fantasy series 'His Dark Materials' jumps right in. Lord Asriel's (James McAvoy) investigations into Dust are ongoing but the ruling Magisterium regards his research as heretical. At the same time, children are disappearing out of nowhere. It begins as a children's tale - the "Gobblers" stole a young Gyptian child Billy Costa.
Billy is not the first one to get kidnapped. Later in the episode, the Gyptians' leader John Faa (Lucian Msamati) tells Ma Costa (Anne-Marie Duff) that there are more Gyptian children who have disappeared under similarly mysterious circumstances, leading them to believe that the "Gobblers" are no longer a mere children's myth.
Ever since news of children's abductions started becoming public, stories of "Gobblers" started making the rounds. They became stories that parents scared children with and children scared each other with.
Before every abduction, people have reported seeing a sinister-looking daemon nearby. Billy Costa is kidnapped shortly after celebrating his brother Tony's (Daniel Frogson) daemon settling into a hawk.
But the Gyptians, now sure that Gobblers are dangerous, leave for London to find Billy and the children. Or, in the very least, know what happened with them. Yet, there are those who do not believe that the gobblers are real - there are people who mock the very idea. In a conversation, the protagonist Lyra Belacqua (Dafne Keen) has with her close friend Roger Parslow (Lewin Lloyd), she dismisses his concern of the increasing number of child abductions by "Gobblers."
But by the end of the episode, Roger is also kidnapped. Lyra spends a decent time looking around for him, but unable to find him, she voices her concerns to Mrs. Coulter (a brilliant performance by Ruth Wilson), who promises her that once they get to London, she will leave no stone unturned to find Roger. But is it a mere coincidence that she happens to be locked in the same airship that Mrs. Coulter and Lyra are travelling on?
So, who really are the "Gobblers"? Why are they abducting children? Will the Gyptians manage to find out the truth?
If you are familiar with the 2007 'Golden Compass', a lot of the first episode will be familiar to you. Based on the novel series of the same name by Philip Pullman, 'His Dark Materials' is one rivetting watch of a fantasy series.
'His Dark Materials' airs Mondays at 9 PM on HBO.